CMA CGM creates international startup incubator Ze Box in Marseilles

The CMA CGM
Group has announced the creation of Ze Box, its first international startup
incubator, based in Marseilles. Located in Le Castel building, it will cover a
surface of 800 square metre and will house, starting June 2018, a dozen of
startups coming from all around the world to develop their potential. A call
for applications will be launched shortly.

The
creation of Ze Box is part of CMA CGM’s strategy to make
digitalisation one of the pillars of its development. This innovation will
accelerate, complete and strengthen the initiatives that have already been
launched by the group within the past months including the appointment of a
worldwide team of chief digital officers, the creation of CMA CGM
Ventures, the corporate venture structure dedicated to investments in
innovative technologies.

Its recent
investments include Nyshex, the first digital marketplace for ocean
freight contracts, or e-dray, a collaborative platform enabling drayers to
limit port congestion.

Apart from
this, the French container transportation and shipping company has also
extended support for Le Carburateur, a startup incubator for the
northern districts of Marseilles, with financial support awarded to 5
businesses related to the sea, transport and logistics sectors.

It has also
partnered with Aix-Marseille French Tech, a key player in digital innovation,
and The Camp, an innovative campus bringing together large companies, startups,
teachers and researchers. The company also has a partnership with Infosys,
a global IT leader, to accelerate the transformation of its information system.
Also there are new partnerships with major ebusiness companies like Alibaba.

Ze Box is
launched within a strong and ambitious partnership with the
Aix-Marseilles University and the Aix-Marseille Provence Métropole. As a
center for exchanges aimed at accompanying startups and promote an
entrepreneurial and innovative spirit, Ze Box will benefit from CMA CGM’s
expertise and from the skills of researchers and PhD students. It will be
headed by Matthieu Somekh, previously Head of Entrepreneurship and Innovation
at Ecole Polytechnique (a leading French institute which combines top-level
research, academics and innovation at the cutting-edge of science and
technology).

On the
occasion Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and chief executive officer of the CMA CGM
Group, stated, “With Ze Box, CMA CGM is accelerating its digital strategy and
is developing the means to become the transportation industry’s leader in
innovation. By combining our expertise with the one of the startups that will
be hosted within Ze Box, we will develop global innovations that create value
for our customers and for CMA CGM. Thanks to Ze box, our ambition is to attract
to France the best startups from all around the world. Its creation in
Marseilles also shows our strong will to contribute to the economic development
of this territory.